Entries for October 2005
Halloween Costumes
Patty and I dressed up as Achewood characters for the Achewood Costume Contest. I was Lie Bot, a robot who tells lies, and she was Ray, when he declares himself the Donald Trump of homeless people. (Ray is an American Curl.) Pictures (click to enlarge):
You may not see it very well, but she's got the newspaper tie and everything!
P.S.: I just burned a pan of french fries that I forgot about while typing this post, so I hope you enjoyed it!
Bonus! What are Ray and Lie Bot talking about in that picture? What's up with that robot's ass?
cool stuff OVERLOAD
So I would have done some sweet stuff over fall break, but instead there was so much Internet stuff to keep up with that I basically spent the whole time reading. This was mostly due to that web2.0 conference and all the surrounding hype. I don't usually send around links to all my friends or anything (some people do that like it's their job), but sheesh! I won't post anything from Joel on Software or Paul Graham or anything cause you should be reading that stuff anyway...
I should first note that I kept up with most of this stuff using reddit. reddit is basically what I hoped del.icio.us would be, although there are no tags (yet). Sadly, it's too hard to keep up with what's new and hot on del.icio.us, and reddit handles this pretty well with a points/time system. Compare the del.icio.us popular page with the reddit hottest page to see what I mean — there is some overlap, but reddit wins by far for stuff that grabs my attention.
Secondly, you can keep track of all the new startups and web apps sprouting all over the place at the following two sites: The Startup News and eHub. Also if you're into following blog discussion check out Memeorandum, but personally that moves too slow for me.
I finally tried out the Indigo Prophecy (aka DONGO PROPECY) demo with Steve and it was really fun. You gotta give it a whirl.
If you have the time to sit down and read something long, try Confessions of a Car Salesman or Why Does God Hate Amputees?. The first is an undercover journalist who discovers all the tricks of car salesmen by working as one for a couple months; it's funny. The latter is an online book by the guy from HowStuffWorks targetted at Christians, aiming to slowly disprove religion through rational discussion without being too offensive. Both are addictive to read.
Finally, check out meebo.com for an AJAX interface to the most popular IM clients without any UI sacrifices. That last part is important; give it a try to see what I mean. And try JotSpot Live for an AJAX version of SubEthaEdit. Sound familiar? I made the same thing last semester, and although it worked fine, I never got it polished enough to release. Guess I should have kept at it!
Yeah, there are a ton of these fancy little applications popping up, but some stand out more than others...
Other Newz You Can Uze
I have a really easy workload this semester. Or rather, it's less about homework and deadlines than about managing my own time, and that makes it easier. Two of my classes are project-based instead of homework-based. These are the kind of classes I've been waiting for since I came here, and I wish more professors would take this approach. Homework forces me to do something, it doesn't encourage me to learn something. Also, I can't think of a single homework that I've actually enjoyed or wanted to do. Projects, for me, are the exact opposite.
So anyway, the most interesting class is EECS 396L: Game Production. It's a mixing pot of CIA, CIM, and Case students who all join teams and make games. My team is making a third-person action puzzle game, like Myst meets Legend of Zelda.
Good luck to my friend Mike, who was flown out to New York City today (without much warning) for an interview at Google. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I hope it goes well.
Oh yeah, I'm also jealous that I didn't get the chance to go to Paul Graham's Startup School program last weekend in Boston, which Mike also attended. I was going to apply, but I couldn't have made it out to Boston. Graduation is almost upon us, and a lot of people I know are thinking about what they want to do. For me it's startup or bust. Or Google. Or 37signals. Relying on all these ideas is risky and delusional, but I'm not going to be happy working for Generic Tech Company, so I'm remaining optimistic.
My plans:
- Spring 2006: school
- Summer & Fall 2006: co-op
- Spring 2007: school (extra semester) & graduation
money dot com part two
So, Fall semester.
Getting this was pretty awesome:
However, the excitement only lasted for a couple minutes, because a check was written "from Brian to Case" for the same amount not long after. And I still owe $1,800.
Before I get into my money rant, I should comment on the Summer of Code. Yes, that check means I successfully completed my project. Actually, it means I did "just enough." I wish I could be prouder of the results of my project, but two months to design, code, and test something that big is not easy. So I'll be revisiting Knoware another time, and hopefully doing a better job.
Back to money. Those who know me know that I'm never stressed out or angry. Classes don't stress me out, even when I get terrible grades. Relationships don't stress me out. Owing money, however, stresses me out. If I had $0 to live on, but I didn't owe Case any money, I would be happy — and this is usually what happens every semester.
This semester, I just can't figure it out. I know tuition has been hiked, and the new apartments are more expensive, but on the other hand, I'm not on the meal plan and financial aid increases slightly with each year you stay at Case. So I should be paying less out of my own pocket, right?
Anyway, the point is that my bank account is empty and I still owe money and it's stressing me out.